Esme's POV
The feeling creeping at the back of my neck—it hadn't been a hunch—it was a confirmation.
"More pressure!" Lena's mother yelled to her. They kept pressing his chest with a soaked cloth, calling his name to keep him conscious.
My head was spinning, and if Elle had not held onto me, my legs would've given way. I had already cried out all the water in my body, and more tears threatened to spill.
Lena's brother ran to them with a bowl of poorly mixed herbs. "It should fight the poison, mother!"
Poison. My hands clenched as if the ones who deserved the blow stood in front of me. I remembered the exact smell that had whizzed past me in the main hall.
"He'd be fine, Esmeralda," Lena's mother assured. I forced myself off the wall and ran into the forest. Elle followed me.
"Stay with my uncle."
"Mistress, I—"
